Nearly one in 10 Co-op stores pause contactless payments amid cyberattack

The ongoing cyber attack on Co-op knocked contactless card payments offline at nearly one in ten stores today, forcing customers to use cash or enter their PIN numbers.

It is understood around 200 of its 2,300 stores stores suffered “payment issues” this morning.

Co-op, however, has been working through the day to restore the service to impacted stores, and told The Grocer this afternoon that contactless payments have now been restored.

The move to pause contactless payments was one of various measures the convenience retailer has implemented to prevent unauthorised access to its systems since it was hit by cyber hackers on 30 April.

It comes after the Co-op admitted on Friday (2 May) that cyber hackers had accessed personal data relating to a “significant number” of Co-op members.

This contained personal information such as names and contact details, but did not include members’ passwords, bank or credit card details, nor data relating to members’ and customers’ transactions, products or services with the Co-op Group, it said.

The convenience retailer said it was continuing to investigate the “highly complex situation” with the National Cyber Security Centre and National Crime Agency.